Episode 04 –
[C] certainly is trying to build up to something grand. You could just see how the story is trying to build up both it’s characters, while at the same time adding layers of mystery and intrigue to the setting itself. The stuff going on in this episode doesn’t mince words either, with some rather interesting action sequences to boot. There is also the introduction of some organizations and guilds here, which I suspect will play a much larger role in the future.
Like I said earlier, this episode doesn’t mince words or anything. When someone goes bankrupt in the Financial District, they give up their future as collateral. And when they say “future”, they literally mean “whatever you may value in the future”. I mean, your three kids becoming vaporware overnight is a pretty huge deal. Their complete erasure from reality is a rather stunning little development, and is rather chilling to think about.
This does make me wonder what exactly Kimimaro’s father lost, because it was big enough to drive his father to suicide. Whatever his father lost may have actually been important to Kimimaro, and Kimimaro may have suffered as a result there. If Kimimaro ever loses, I wonder what he will lose…?
The second half was rather intriguing in it’s own way. The presence of the organizations (the starlight guild, etc) feels like the series is setting up for some sort of major conflict between it and other organizations (such as the briefly mentioned Union). What I’m curious about here is the significance of Mikuni Souichirou’s involvement; considerng Mikuni’s reputation amongst everybody in the financial world, anything he is involved in seems rather suspicious.
Oh, and the policy that the guild takes up (where they try to minimize real world changes) is rather interesting because it makes things rather tough for themselves. To force yourself to win by a small margin is much, much more difficult than outright overpowering an opponent because it requires a controlled level of restraint. The same goes for losing as well.
Well, there are a few things I’m kind of worried about here. For one, we still don’t really have much of a main conflict, just a lot of buildup involving Mikuni. Considering the 11 episode length to this series, I hope it has time to develop things properly. Oh, and Kimimaro still feels rather uncertain with his attitude, which makes for a rather uninteresting main characters. Hopefully he starts getting some major character development somehow.
Overall Enjoyment: 3.9/5
Screenshots are later in the post.
Distant Paradise 
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From how the previous episode ended I thought that it might be classmate or something but I think that it was a nice twist since we finally got to see what they take as “collateral.” In the case of his father I wonder if something did in fact was taken from him or if it was just his life since he committed suicide.
On anther note, I really liked how the battle played out. I wonder if this guild that they are trying to create to take over the District will actually materialize or if the creepy guy will interfere or if the higher ups are going to be shown.
Kimimaro’s battle was a bit to convenient in my eyes, but the one with Soujirou was much more intriguing. What I’m finding more worrisome, though, is the reasoning behind why Soujirou let the battle unfold the way it did. The idea of leaving as little impact on the real world sounds all nice, but I just can’t believe that he is doing it solely as a act of good will. It seems as if there is something a bit shady happening in the background, with his relationship with Masakaki (the clown) eyebrow-raising.
What I’m wondering, for sure, is if the father simply committed suicide when he went bankrupt, or if he actually lost something important, and as a result committed suicide. If it is indeed the latter reason, I suspect that Kimimaro unknowingly lost something of importance too. Considering they are family, whatever the father loses he probably loses too. As to what he lost, though, that is a complete mystery.